Srinagar, Jun 03 (KNS): Ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, the markets in Srinagar especially the commercial hub Lal Chowk Monday wore a festive look as the shoppers thronged to the shops throughout the day to buy essentials.
Witnesses said that the roads in the main market in Srinagar mostly in the business hub Lal Chowk remained flooded with the shoppers while as the vehicles in large number were seen stranded in the gridlock.
Men, women, young and especially children hunted for hosiery items, bakery, poultry and mutton while child’s preferred to buy clothes and toys to add to the joy of Eid.
With the huge rush of shoppers, the shopkeepers had erected their stalls on the roadsides to tackle the rush of customers.
However, the traffic cops had also a tough time in regulating the flow of vehicles.
While queues of buyers were seen outside bakery and mutton shops, the most crowded places in the city were the makeshift animal markets, especially at Eidgah ground in the old City.
According to KNS Correspondent, the other main attraction was on bakery products including cakes, pastries, cookies and biscuits.
Some of the better known bakery shops in Srinagar had taken orders as long as a month back. “I had placed my order with the baker a week ago. Even after that, I had to queue up this morning to get my ordered goods,” Umer Asif from Karan Nagar said.
However, the commuters faced immense hardships today as traffic mess was witnessed in most part of the Srinagar including Old City as well as the uptown areas.
The commuters remained stuck for a long time in the gridlock today, which was witnessed in several city areas including Rajouri Kadal, Lal Chowk, Habba Kadal, Fateh Kadal, Nowhatta, Rainawari, Hari Singh High Street, Jahangir Chowk and others.
The vehicles in large were seen stranded on the roads for a long time while as the traffic cops were seen regulating the traffic.
Commuters said that street vendors who are occupying the roads are one among the main reasons behind the traffic mess here. “The government had earlier claimed to have vacated the vendors from the roads but the street vendors continue to occupy the roadsides here thereby leaving the commuters to lurch at large,” they said.
They said that the people are out to buy the essentials for the Eid and the government must ensure free and smooth movement for the commuters as well as the shoppers.
The commuters also alleged that most of the traffic signals remain defunct while the rest of the signals are being put on blinker mode to ensure free and smooth vehicular movement of the VIP’s, which is also creating the frequent traffic mess. (KNS)